A federal penal has upheld the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) decision to fine retail giant Walmart over an injury case.
In 2020, the OSHA fined Walmart $10,684 after a warehouse worker in Johnstown, New York, was ‘seriously’ injured in 2017.
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The worker was hit by cases of crescent rolls that had fallen off a pallet stored on a rack.
Walmart was alleged to have violated the OSHA’s safety standard, which requires items stored in tiers to be stable and secure against sliding and collapse.
Earlier this month, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission upheld the OSHA’s decision to fine Walmart.
The review board initially withdrew the fine, claiming that the retailer had stored pallets of boxes individually instead of stacking them.
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By GlobalDataIt later reviewed the case after the New York-based Second US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that tall metal racks were tiers, meaning the OSHA’s standard did apply.
In a statement, the OSHA said: “The 9 February 2023 decision by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission found the US Department of Labour’s OSHA cited the global discount retailer correctly for failing to meet the agency’s safety standard for storage of material that requires that items stored in tiers must be stable and secure against sliding and collapse.”
In addition to the penalty, the commission has ordered Walmart to fix the cited hazards within six months to meet the required standard.
Walmart operates around 10,500 stores and clubs under 46 banners in 24 countries, as well as e-commerce services.
The company employs roughly 2.3 million colleagues worldwide, almost 1.6 million of whom are in the US.
Walmart recently reported full-year revenue of $611.3bn for fiscal 2023 (FY23), up by 6.7% from fiscal 2022 (FY22).
The retailer’s operating income for the full year declined by 21.3% to $20.4bn, while its earnings per diluted share (EPS) were $4.27.
